O'Hara's Irish Red | Carlow Brewing Company

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Reviews by ocmpoma:

After browsing around to see what the highest rated Irish stouts were on the site, I was quite surprised to see this Irish red from County Carlow at the Whole Foods in Hillcrest.

It pours out a wonderfully dark but unmistakably amber into the old Duvel tulip, with a nice, fluffy head that's just slightly tan in color. Good lacing as the head dissipates.

The nose is quite spicy up front, with a strong malt backbone. Little to no bitter notes. On the palate it's very malty with just some hints of spice and a little tiny bit of funkiness... I get a little bit of pine resin and the hops are there, barely, at the end.

Mouthfeel is pretty good; it's a tad thin but not off-balance. It's drinkable: smooth and if anything a bit too sweet, but overall a nice showing.

More User Reviews:

Pours a nice clear amber with a one finger head that is gone pretty quickly,heavy caramel malt aroma along with some brown sugar and highly toasted grain makes it pretty aromatic.Pretty sharp mouthfeel though pretty darn prickly on the tongu the only drawback to this brew in my opinion.Big and toasty flavors some almost butterscotch flavors come thru no hop bitterness really but that tru to the Irish red style.Pretty flavorful but the mouthfeel brings down the scores a little on this one.

After drinking a few of these beers the mouthfeel was alot smoother and rounder,maybe just one bad bottle in the bunch the better mouthfeel made this brew alot better.

Appearance  This one poured a deep reddish brown with a good, solid off-white head that showed some tenacious retention. So far so good.

Smell  The malts here are big at the nose and full of unsweetened molasses. Its almost reminiscent of a bock in that regard. Theres little else to the bouquet that I can pick out.

Taste  The malt flavors are very intense. The raw molasses from the nose steps back a bit but the gooey liquid malt flavor is sharp. Its almost yeasty in a way with lots of butter on the sides of the tongue.

Mouthfeel  This is medium-bodied with an English-type of bitterness from the malts and some light carbonation. It feels very concentrated in between the cheeks.

Drinkability  This is a lot bigger than it looks. Its a big beer for sure and I seem to have enjoyed it more than the few others who have posted reviews.

A pretty beer: red/brown color with a huge tan head that resembled whipped cream. Very sticky. The aroma was on the light side, light roasted malt and some fruit. Lemony taste, some caramel, and a little bitterness at the end. A pleasant beer, easy to drink a few of these.

New arrival at the Richmond Road location of the Liquor Barn, in Lexington, Ky. This 330 ml(11.2 oz) bottle pours a clear copper body with a one inch head that is tinted between offwhite and beige. The head quickly falls to a film, leaving some patchy lace on the glass. Aroma is mostly spicy herbal hops, with a slightly sweetish pale malt background. Mouthfeel is light bodied with prickly carbonation. Taste begins with some biscuity pale malt sweetness that is quickly subdued by an herbal/floral hops bitterness. The mild hops bitterness rides through to the finish. Crisp and refreshing, and pleasantly drinakble. Not quite as good as a Smithwicks, but in the same league.

Ruddy copper with strawberry hues and a quickly rising and then quickly departing foamy head that leaves a fine cap and long tendrils rising up the side of the glass like vines. Aroma is bright, almost moist, sweet malt with some pungent hop and cinnamon. Thin mouthfeel leads to an odd malt base, almost smokey, with some fruit and spice and a slightly tannic finish that imparts an iced tea flavor. Sort of metallic flavor lingers. Small bits of hop poking through, but could easily be missed.

Pours red, a little darker than average, no head.
Aroma was kind of flat beer.

Taste, some slight tang to the ale, but really not much going on. The bitterness prolly isn't desireable in this style of beer. Tastes as if it is a half red, half brown ale blend with the slight nuttiness and subtlety (read: boring) that fans of session beers like. Lacking depth, substance, ingredients it seems.

Pours a deep ruby brown color forming a large creamed coffee like hue, fine speckled lacing forms evenly on the sides of my chalice. Aroma has some mild fruit notes, hints of grape and cherry with earthy rounded notes with a nice malt presence. Much more palatable than the last Irish Red I tried at double the price. Hints of peated malt, fruitiness lingers on throughout the maltiness, this beer could become one dimensional unless you really really like it. Underlying fruit blends nicely together, minimal hops. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with even flowing carbonation going on. No harsness on the palate really smoth and expressive. This was a solid authentic offering of the style from across the pond.